Monday, January 9, 2017

Want to Make Big Bucks? - Head Up a Non-Profit/Charity and Rake in the Dough

The government, that's you and me, allows organizations that do charitable works to be non-profit. that is, they get all the benefits of this great country but pay none of the costs. Okay, good deal for both the country and its citizens because good charities do good works and spend money that might otherwise have to come from government.

Barry Shrage, smiling all the way to the bank on contrib utions to charity

But of course some people have to take advantage. It turns out that many, not all but many of the people who head up a charity get outrageous compensation. Case in point, good ole Barry Shrage of the Jewish Philantrophy of Boston.

Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, one of the state’s largest nonprofits, gave longtime president Barry Shrage an unusual $1.34 million payment after deciding he had been underpaid for years.

The one-time cash payout was called a retirement payment even though Shrage, 69, has no imminent plans to retire. It was made in 2014, on top of his $563,000 in compensation and benefits, but did not have to be disclosed until the organization filed its most recent tax return this year.

Of course, most of us, that the decent people of America would think that making over half a million would be compensation enough. After all, that's a pretty good salary even in high cost Boston, and remember, every dollar that's paid good ole Barry is a dollar not used for the charitable work that is the purpose of the organization.

But in America today ripping off a charity is just business as usual.

According to the chairman of CJP’s board of directors, Neil Wallack, the payment was authorized after the board compared Shrage’s compensation over the past decade with that of leaders of similar nonprofits and determined he had been consistently underpaid. That opinion was confirmed in an outside consultant’s analysis.

“Because of the great value we deemed Barry to have brought to the Jewish community, we felt he should be compensated at a minimum at this level,” said Wallack, adding that Shrage did not ask for the payment.

And if any poor person objects, well just let them go run a big wealthy charity and get the great salary and perks.